Feedback: Readers debate the Sterling scandal

May 2, 2014

487377023.jpg LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 29: Los Angeles Clippers hold up signs referencing the Donald Sterling situation before the game with the Golden State Warriors in Game Five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on April 29, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) / Getty Images

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, right, and V. Stiviano, left, watch the Clippers play the Los Angeles Lakers during an NBA preseason basketball game in Los Angeles on Monday, Dec. 19, 2011. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Silver announced Tuesday, April 29, 2014, that Sterling has been banned for life by the league, in response to racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok) / AP

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Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was banned for life and fined $2.5 million for making racist comments in a conversation that was recorded. Readers slammed Sterling, praised the NBA and worried about their privacy:

Mr. Sterling’s remarks were racist and reprehensible but made during a private conversation. People have the right to say what they want in the privacy of their own homes. Perish the thought if live microphones were placed in every one of our homes and the results were released it to the public.

Tracey M. Martin

Via Freep.com

We see that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver took care of a racial problem in the NBA. Now, if we can only educate some of our Supreme Court justices to the fact that we still have racial problems in the U.S.

Gerald Krajewski

Dearborn

Don’t forget the players who knew about Mr. Sterling’s past but still cared more about the color green. This man was a known quantity.

Joe Brinley

Via Freep.com

Sterling had the right to say it. People have the right to respond as they see fit, too. Sponsors have the right to bail. People can choose not to go to games. But yes, he can say whatever he wants.

Danny DeRoche

Via Freep.com

America, you have been read your Miranda rights. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you.

Dennis Smith

Via Freep.com

Kudos to the commissioner. The NBA shall not stand for racists such as Donald Sterling. Hopefully, other organizations will follow suit if future incidents occur.

Samantha Orris

Via Freep.com

Sad truth is, Donald Sterling was banned for something he said, ignorant as it may be, not for what he was doing, which was worse: being a slumlord, a racist and a bigot, and we all know actions speak louder than words. However, Sterling was allowed to get away with it even though the NBA was well aware of his views and behavior for years. It’s only after his outdated and asinine views were captured on audio and played for all the world to hear, embarrassing the NBA, that it banned him. Sterling is the same man he was a week ago. If that tape never came to light, Sterling would have gone merrily along, owning the Clippers.

Dan Smith

Via Freep.com

Sterling did not commit a crime. He is just a person of poor character and bad core values that are unacceptable for society.

Ronald Whiteside

Via Freep.com

The comments that Donald Sterling made were certainly offensive, and the punishment he received is definitely appropriate. There is no place for his type of comments in our society. However, Jessie Jackson, true to form, could not miss a photo-op by going to the Clippers game. I am surprised that Al Sharpton was not there. They live for these moments. Better that the NBA deals with this outrage and both of them keep out of it.

John Borkowski

Harrison Township

Thank you NBA for responding promptly and with justice.

Glenda K. Bruce

Dearborn

The real grace in this sad situation came from the Clippers players themselves. They chose to be no specific ethnic group or name — just a unified ballclub playing for each other and their city, and maybe for all of us, as well.